MEDIA -- In a race that was too close to call for two days, the Democratic challenger in the 163rd District of the Pennsylvania General Assembly conceded victory once the outcome was mathematically assured Thursday afternoon.

Sheamus Bonner came within 354 votes of unseating 34-year incumbent Republican state Rep. Nick Micozzie before provisional ballots were processed by voter registration workers Thursday. After the 175 provisionals were examined, only 49 had the potential to be counted, according to a county official and the candidates' representatives.

"I have called state Rep. Micozzie and congratulated him on his victory," Bonner said in the lobby of the Delaware County Government Center, the building where the processing took place. "I pledged to support him by any means for his constituents."

Micozzie said this was the closest he's ever come to defeat in his 18 campaigns for state representative.

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"It was a difficult election and I'm glad I won," he said. "Now we go on back to work."

Each candidate thanked their supporters for their efforts. Micozzie thanked all of his supporters and those who worked on his campaign, especially those who put signs on their lawns for him, and everyone who helped him in his elections over the years.

Bonner thanked his wife, Whitney, first and foremost, and also recognized his campaign manager Sean Morrison, the Delaware County Democrats, his legal team and all of the people who took time to help his effort and meet with him throughout the campaign. He also expressed gratitude to the unions who supported his election campaign.

When voting machines from the 79 precincts in Upper Darby, Darby Township, Ridley, Aldan, Lansdowne and Clifton Heights that make up the 163rd District, Micozzie lead by 354 votes. Employees of the Voter Registration office spent all day Thursday processing provisional ballots, beginning with the 175 cast in that district. Countywide, there were hundreds more waiting to be processed. The workers would check the information supplied by the voter on the ballot envelope against the state's voter registration database. They would print out the voter's information, staple it to the envelope and then Chief Clerk Director of Voter Registration Mary Jo Headley would make a recommendation on whether the vote should be counted. Of the 175 provisional ballots cast in the 163rd, 39 were deemed to be legitimate and 10 were determined to likely be legitimate, according to Headley.

The process began about 10 a.m. Thursday, and continued through about 4:30 p.m. The five workers were expected back Friday to process the rest of the county's provisional ballots. The entire undertaking was monitored by Election Bureau Solicitor Frank Catania, as well as representatives of each candidate and their political party. County Councilman John McBlain represented the county Republican Party and Tom Micozzie represented his father, Nick. Kevin Greenberg represented Sheamus Bonner, while J. Manly Parks represented the county Democratic Party as their solicitor.

It was apparent early in the afternoon to the watchers that the results wouldn't be enough to sway the election in Bonner's favor.

"From what I understand of the math, it does look like the math is against (Bonner)," Parks said in the county council meeting room, where the processing occurred.

For his part, media outlets have said that Bonner ran an aggressive campaign. Bonner himself claims to have personally knocked on more than 28,000 doors in the 163rd. In fact, prior to delivering his concession statement, a woman approached Bonner to inquire about the results of the election. She remembered he had stopped by her house to talk during the campaign, and asked him to stay involved in politics despite his loss.

"We are not done yet," Bonner said of his future in public service. He didn't have any particular office or role in mind, but he vowed to stay involved.

His showing against such an entrenched incumbent gave him reason to be confident about his prospects, even as he dismissed the results as being a loss.

"This was not a loss," he said.

His largest area of support came from the Democratic enclave of Lansdowne Borough, where he earned 3,974 votes to Micozzie's 1,696. Micozzie secured advantages in all the other municipalities of the 163rd to edge Bonner 14,003 votes to 13,649 votes.

"This was close and the reason is because the area is changing," Micozzie said, referring to the demographic shift in party affiliation, especially in Lansdowne. He said turnout was higher than usual in Lansdowne, and with a hotly contested presidential race on the ballot as well, that gave Democrats an advantage.

Micozzie will be sworn in as the state representative for the 163rd District for the 18th time in January.